Believe
by KP02
Summary: What happens when everyone stops believing in Jack?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, I finally got to see this movie, and then I was reading fanfiction and then I wanted to write something for it, then this came out… Um, yeah… I may or may not continue it.**

* * *

Just because eight children believed in him didn't mean the world now knew about Jack Frost. In fact, most of the other children scoffed at his kids. Yeah, he thought of them as his. It wasn't like he was like the other Guardians; he had to protect his few believers.

That was why it was so painful when they stopped believing.

Claude was the first. It was the day of Claude's sixteenth birthday and Jack would remember it forever. His birthday was in November and they'd spent the day before having an epic snowball fight. Jack saw him that day, walking with the rest of the group and talking animatedly. Jack grinned and scooped up a snowball, hitting Claude in the side of the head with it. The boy stopped walking and glared at his friends.

"Who threw that?" He demanded. They shrugged and looked around. Jamie was the first to spot Jack sitting on his staff and grinning.

"It was Jack! He Jack, come say happy birthday!" He called, waving wildly. Jack laughed and floated over.

"Happy birthday, kid." He said, reaching out to ruffle the kid's hair. Only to freeze when he passed right through him.

"What's your problem, guys? You're being really weird. C'mon, we're gonna be late for school." Claude said, shaking his head and starting to walk again. Right through Jack. He clutched his stomach out of reflex more than anything else: after so many years he hardly felt any pain. This time though, this time was different. This wasn't someone who had never believed, this was someone who just yesterday was laughing at his antics, that was questioning him about the Tooth Fairy's palace. He still couldn't move when as the rest of the kids kept walking as well, giving him sympathetic looks. Jamie even stopped to give him a short hug.

Jamie hugged him every time the others stopped believing. Pretty soon, Jamie was the only thing keeping Jack from sinking into a depression. The other Guardians tried to help, but Jack was avoiding them, and they were busy enough that they didn't know exactly what was going on. So Jack slowly drew away from everything but Jamie.

Five years after Claude, Jamie turned twenty-one and walked straight through Jack on the way to his car.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I really wasn't planning on updating this so soon, but then the idea wouldn't get out of my head. So then I kept putting off studying for my economics test tomorrow in order to write this. So, yeah. Hope you like it! **

**Would you guys want some more short fics kind of along this line?**

* * *

Tooth was the first to notice that Jack was missing. Normally the winter spirit dropped by once a week to visit Baby Tooth, even though lately he had seemed depressed. It had been three weeks now since Jack had come by and she was getting worried. Worried enough to leave one of her older fairies in charge and go to the Pole.

"North, I'm really worried about Jack. I haven't seen him in a while and he was really depressed then. I think something might be wrong." She said, pacing back and forth in front of the big man.

"Maybe he is busy. I hear Montana is buried in snow." North said calmly. Tooth shook her head.

"No, he's been busy before, but he always visits, always. I don't-" Tooth was cut off by the appearance of Bunnymund.

"Any of you seen Frostbite? I got some bad news for you." He said, looking serious for once.

"Tooth is worried as well, but she does not know why. What is your news?" North asked, brushing aside some elves offering cookies. Bunny took a deep breath.

"Jamie stopped believing.

* * *

It took them two hours to find him. Just following the various blizzards across the world wasn't enough: every time they reached one it was ending, with no sign of Jack. They finally found him in Alaska, sitting in a tree and moodily freezing the nearby pines. He didn't even glance at them when they arrived, a fairly impressive feat considering the sled's landing. They piled out and congregated around the tree.

"Jack? Are you ok?" Tooth asked gently. No answer from the winter spirit.

"Come down and talk. Maybe we help." North said, his already heavy accent growing heavier with sorrow. Jack leapt from the tree, but didn't speak. His eyes weren't alive and sparkling like they usually were, but rather dull and lifeless. Silence prevailed for a few seconds until Tooth couldn't stand it any longer. She moved forward and dragged the painfully skinny boy into her arms. He was stiff and unmoving at first, then after a few seconds he sagged into her.

"Sorry, mate. The first one's the hardest." Bunny muttered. Tooth rubbed his back.

"It's going to be ok." She whispered. Jack pulled away, his eyes suspiciously wet.

"I wish he had never believed." He said quietly, then flew away. The Guardians didn't speak or move for a second.

"This is no good." North said.

* * *

Jack didn't know why he tortured himself like this. He didn't know why he kept hanging around Jamie, following him to work, to class, to his dorm room. It wasn't healthy, but he did it anyways. The Guardians had helped a little, just showing that they cared, but he was used to being alone. He'd been following Jamie for two weeks now, frosting the sidewalk in front of him, making designs in his window, everything short of making it snow inside. He had never been so desperate to make someone believe before. He had always had Jamie though. At least, ever since he'd become a Guardian. He was sitting on his staff behind Jamie now, watching as the kid took notes on what a boring professor was saying.

"Hey kid, this is boring. Let's get out of here." He never gave up talking to him, and sometimes he imagined that maybe Jamie heard him.

"What's he even talking about? I mean, how does this even make sense?" He asked, looking doubtfully at the screen in the front of the room. It was showing some sort of anatomical thing.

"You know kid, I preferred it when you were studying history. At least I was there for most of it." He commented. Jamie paused for a moment, then shook his head. That at least was hopeful. So on the way home, Jack froze the sidewalk, just for kicks.

* * *

Jamie sighed and collapsed on the uncomfortable couch in his dorm room. Thankfully, his roommate was gone. He had a headache from trying to figure out why he kept hearing a random voice.

"You look horrible." The voice was quiet, low and raspy. Jamie whipped his head around, trying to figure out where it was coming from. It sounded familiar, but he couldn't think of where he'd heard it.

"Damnit, I'm not crazy!" He yelled into one of the couch pillows. Silence was the only answer. Then a cold gust of wind brought his face out from behind the pillow. He didn't remember leaving the window open. Glancing over at it, he saw that it was closed. Somehow though, even though it wasn't outside, there was snow in his room and even frost on the floor. Then a snowflake landed on his nose and he remembered.

"J-Jack?" He whispered. Then, like a camera coming into a focus, there he was, perched on the back of the couch, staff in hand and grinning, a cautious look in his eyes.

"You remember?" Jack asked hesitantly. Jamie nodded, hardly believing it himself.

"Yes!" Jack's enthusiasm was rather reminiscent of the first time Jamie had seen him, and he had to grin at the winter spirit's enthusiasm. Then something occurred to him.

"Hey, were you the one that made me slip on ice?" He asked, slightly outraged. Jack's grin was utterly unrepentant.

"Teach you to not believe in me."


End file.
